Authority Ends Free Holiday Parking

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority says it will not offer free parking during the holidays this year and that has some concerned. For the past several years the Authority has been offering free weekend parking during the holidays and free parking the day after Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day but officials say the authority can no longer afford that. Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership CEO Mike Edwards says that is upsetting. He says while there is no way to measure the impact the $5 weekend parking fee has on downtown shopping and dining everything indicates it does play a roller in consumer decisions. Edwards says the PDP will try to make the fee seem less offensive by encouraging people to do more than just one thing when traveling downtown such as shopping before taking in some entertainment and then topping the day off with a meal.